Trees, Shrubs and Conifers: Is Osage Orange a good shade tree?, 0 by StarhillForest

StarhillForest wrote:
Wow, this thread sure grew in the past two days. Scott, I bet you'd be a LOT of fun on REAL drugs!

It does seem to be true that unfertilized females can bear fruit, although much smaller than those which have seeds.

Both ArborVillage and Sunshine sell 'Cannonball' and 'Whiteshield'. The former is a broadly spreading thornless female with 3-pound fruits, while the latter is an erect, elm-like thornless male. I selected 'Cannonball' from a spontaneous tree here, and Steve Bieberich (Sunshine Nursery) selected 'Whiteshield' from a tree found in Kansas, I think. For those of you in Europe, you can get (or soon will be able to get) 'Cannonball' from Pavia Nursery in Derrlijk, Belgium, and perhaps from Doering Nursery Near Kassel, Germany -- along with some of our oaks and other cultivar selections.

I'll post a photo showing (left to right) normal fruits, an apple, and 'Cannonball' fruits. They aren't for the faint of heart (or the unhelmeted gardener!), but they really make a conversation piece in the right place. Some of pur foreign tour guests are so impressed that they actually take fruits home with them in their luggage (wrapped carefully in plastic bags).

Guy S.